A walking wounded update

Posted by | August 07, 2007 at 08:32 PM

The Phillies returned home to Citizens Bank Park on Tuesday, giving an update on their lengthy list of injured players. You can see a complete list here.

Second baseman Chase Utley (left), the most prominent player on the disabled list, appears unlikely to make the optimistic three-week return that was discussed after he broke his right hand July 26. He had his stitches removed Tuesday but still has not been cleared to grip a bat and won't see hand specialist Dr. Randall Culp again until Aug. 20. Utley still hopes to return before the month ends, but he's almost guaranteed to miss at least four weeks total.

I also had a chance to talk with reliever Ryan Madson (strained right shoulder) and outfielder Michael Bourn (sprained left ankle) about their injuries. Madson said he would probably miss 4-6 weeks total but plans to return in September. Bourn remains on crutches and won't begin running for a couple of weeks. He would like to be back before August ends.